down by the seaside
by daisychain1
Summary: the perfect hook for the perfect fish (senkosh)


Notes: 

1. This is because I could not stop writing senkosh and I can never ever sleep without finishing this one. Shit, I love these boys so much.

2. Still no beta. Therefore, full of mistakes. And it's fluff!

3. The title is the title of a song by Tori Amos, inspired by one stanza of the song:

Down by the seaside  
See the boats go sailin'  
Can the people hear, oh  
What the little fish are sayin'

Which I think already explains itself. :)

4. This should be written for Senkosh day, but for a fan girl like me, everyday is Senkosh day, so…

5. For all the senkosh lovers out there. We rule! XD

6. And also: **HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZHYN-CHAN!**

7. This is all Mommy's fault, her paksiw is too wonderful.

Disclaimer: If I owned Slamdunk, I'd be filthy rich. But I don't, so poor me.

**Down by the Seaside**__

_First, a fairytale._

"Grandpa?"

The wet breeze from the docks chilled the boy's little body as he stepped onto the small out-bridge, watching the early fishing boats lazily drifting in the chilled morning breeze. Still drowsy from sleep, he clumsily made his way to the old man silently unwinding the nylon thread of his fishing rod, outline stark with the bluish backdrop of dawn, seated at the edge of the rough wood plank.

"Ahhh, Akira-kun, come over here. Help me fix this rod of yours so we can already start." The old man breathed deeply the early morning air. "A good time to fish," he murmured to himself.

"Coming, Grandpa." The boy clutched tighter to his jacket, discreetly rubbing his hands to keep the cold at bay. "Here's the pouch you were looking for earlier. It was in the other bag," the boy said in his cheerful soprano.

The old man smiled up at the boy and took the bag from the small hands. "Ah, yes." 

He then proceeded, after carefully laying down the boy's fishing rod, to randomly pick up a hook from the bag, then after scrunching his face, put it down the rough wood and pick another one again. 

This continued silently, the old man concentrating on the hook and the boy wide-eyed at the ritual taking place before him, until after few minutes, when the boy's curiosity got the better of him. "Is that one not good?"

The old man didn't even look up from his work. "Well, it was not the right one."

A gasp. "How do you know?"

A chuckle. "Because Grandpa knows a lot of things. Ah, this should be it…"

The boy pouted. "Grandpa!"

The old man offered the boy a bright smile. "You foolish boy. You grandpa has already seen every hook, so he knows what he's doing."

Curious, the boy sat down beside his grandfather, skinny legs dangling at the edge of the out bridge. "But they look the same! How can you tell?" 

"You see, there is only one true hook for every fish in the sea." The old man picked up another hook from the pouch and appeared satisfied with his pick. "The perfect hook for the perfect fish."

As expected of youth, the boy grew more curious with the cryptic answer. "But the sea is big, Grandpa. How can the hook find the fish?"

"Often, they don't." The old man smiled at the young man, sapphire eyes eager. "Sometimes, the fish can be caught by another hook or the hook broken before the fish can ever find it."

The boy's head drooped in sympathy. "How sad."

The old man gathered the boy in his arms, understanding and adoring of the sympathy shining in his grandson's eyes. "Well, that's just the way it happens, Akira-kun." He then turned his head and stared with his glazed eyes at the slowly rising sun in the horizon. "Sometimes, the sea is just too wide."

A few minutes later, the boy silently raised his head to watch the rising sun as well. "So, what happens when they meet? The fish and the hook?"

The old man started, as if woken form a daydream, then smiled mysteriously, eyes still locked at the sun's majestic image at the horizon. "A burst of bright light, then the fish and the hook would reach their ultimate happiness and live on eternally in the sea."

The young boy's eyes were wide when he looked up at the old man. "It must be beautiful."

The old man smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. " It is."

The wet breeze from the sea chilled Sendoh out of his reverie, yet he made no move to leave his steady place by the railings of the seaside park, fronting the prefecture from the wide blue green of the sea. The sun was still lazing in the horizon and the sea still glazed with traces of moonlight, ethereal.

_/ A good time to fish. /_

"Sorry I'm late." A familiar voice suddenly rang into the early silence. Then, a yawn. "Almost didn't make it. Why do we have to do this _this _early?"

He shifted slightly, another blast of the early breeze chilling him. "It's Grandpa's birthday today."

"Oh." The smaller man slowly walked to the railings, sympathy shining in his deep brown eyes. "Baka Sendoh. Why didn't you say so?" 

Sendoh offered Koshino a bright, loving smile. "You didn't ask, really."

Shaking his head, Koshino wrapped his arms around Sendoh's cold frame and then, sighing, moved to pull out a jacket from his knapsack. "It's a good thing I brought an extra. You're freezing!" He wrapped the blue and white jacket around the taller boy's shoulders, smoothing and rubbing to give heat. "Warm?"

Sendoh slowly grasped Koshino's warm hands in his own and placed each a light kiss in the middle of the other's palms. "Thank you." A bright smile.

Koshino blushed. "Did I ever tell you how sappy you are?"

"Many times." A kiss.

"And how many times I was right?"

"Many, many times." Again, a kiss.

_/ You see, there is only one true hook for every fish in the sea. /_

The sun was rising in the horizon, pinkish, bluish, greenish.

Like the sea.

"Akira… I…" Warm lips cut off any protest from Koshino's lips, then both locked into a perfect silken caress, everything in the right angle, the right place.

_/ The perfect hook for the perfect fish. /_

When they finally had to let go, they stared at each other for a long time, both still gasping for air. 

No sound, silently taking each other in, as if memorizing each line, each detail. 

Or maybe trying to comprehend the flash that burst when their lips met.

Only such a perfect kiss can produce such a bright light.

/ A burst of bright light, then the fish and the hook would reach their ultimate happiness and live on eternally in the sea /

Finally catching his breath, Sendoh looked at the lonely looking fishing gear bag beside him and looked amused. "Well, let's not keep the fishes waiting anymore, ne?" Sapphire eyes locked with brown and he whispered gently into Koshino's ear. 

"I love you."

_/ It must be really beautiful. /_

Koshino looked up at Sendoh and saw, with eyes filled with new brightness, a boy and then a man, and the unmistakable glow of sudden joy and love filled his chest. 

"I love you too."

_/ It is. /_

The fishes could wait.

~owari~

----- Sendoh is so sappy! Sweet like chocnut ha!  ^______^;;


End file.
